Different Life Different Viewpoints v2
by rochchen
Summary: Ranma, having left behind by his father at Jusenkyo at a younger age, gets picked up by his mother. Many years later, a mysterious red-haired girl appears at the doorsteps of Hinatasou. Story pending rewrite. -Archive/Suspended-
1. Prologue

Different life, different viewpoints  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters in this story except for those that I have created on my own (But I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon).  
  
Thoughts "Speech/spoken words" 'Telepathy (if there's any)' "Sound effects"  
  
Prologue:  
  
Genma watched over a hole dug on the ground, which was now covered by a huge slab of stone. In his hands was a brochure, which he threw away as soon as he covered up the hole. A child's screams were heard coming from underneath the slab of stone. He wore a white gi with a white bandanna covering his head, which seemed to be bald. He waited impatiently while occasionally grumbling something.  
  
Humph, what a weakling. Blast that damned Kounji, if he hadn't reported to the police then I....err we wouldn't be in this mess. Genma thought angrily as he ignored the screams of his child.  
  
He had stolen the Kounji's yattai or rather tricked them out of it by engaging his son to Ukyo, the little girl who was daughter of the owner of the yattai, and accepting it as dowry. He then dumped her on the side of the road and ran away with it. Unfortunately, Mr. Kounji had followed them to see that they left town safely and found his little girl on the side of the road. He got angry when she told him what happened and reported this matter to the police. Thus, Genma had to abandon the yattai and head for China.  
  
When they reached China, they headed for the famous springs of Jusenkyo, where Ranma got cursed. He then tried to teach him the neko-ken, which leads us to this point in the story.  
  
He tried everything he could think of, but his son just couldn't learn the dreaded neko-ken. He tied him up with everything from fish sausages to fish oil. But every time he came out with a tremendous fear of cats.  
  
Suddenly, a shadow sprang over the bushes and knocked him unconscious. The last thing he saw before darkness claimed him was a figure on a stick breaking the slab of stone that covered the hole.  
  
Cologne was teaching her great-granddaughter when she felt a sense of great fear coming from near Jusenkyo. She told her great- granddaughter to keep practicing and headed towards the source of the fear. What she saw angered her. She pogo-ed over the bushes and knocked the man watching the slab of stone unconscious. She then proceeded to break the said stone and rescued the child. Unfortunately the child jumped out because he had learned the Neko-ken and was in a feline-state. Cologne projected an aura of calmness and the boy relaxed. He purred and soon lay down on the lap that Cologne was offering. Soon the boy was asleep.  
  
Cologne went back up on her staff and examined the boy. He had numerous scratches over his body. His hair was a mess and he smelled of fish. She carried the boy to the village on her back. Then it started to rain and she felt the boy shift behind her. Shocked, she stopped and looked at the boy again. He now had red hair; apart from that he didn't seem to change much, though his body did seem a little bit curvier than before. She checked his Ki and confirmed her suspicion of him being now a girl.  
  
So that fool also took him to Jusenkyo She thought before continuing her path to the village.  
  
As soon as she got to the village, she took him....her to the village healer.  
  
"What happened, elder Cologne?" Asked Conditioner, the village healer.  
  
"This boy's father had the stupidity to teach his child the Neko ken," Cologne answered.  
  
"Oh no, But I thought the technique was lost over the ages?! And what do you mean by boy, this is obviously a girl."  
  
"It seems like his father had found it. He also took him to Jusenkyo. What can you do to help the boy?"  
  
"Well....I can heal his wounds but I'm not sure if I can help him with the fear."  
  
"Do what you can, I sense a great potential in this boy."  
  
"Yes honored elder"  
  
Conditioner carried the young boy....girl into the hut and didn't come out after a day. Cologne left a few hours after she left. When Cologne went back to the campsite the unconscious man was gone, all that was left was the child's pack and the yowling of the hungry cats. She calmed the cats and let them out. The cats ran away as soon as they were out. She looked at the remains of the campsite. Apparently the man left in a hurry. So there was some leftover stuff that he didn't pack. She took the child's pack and looked around. She spotted a small address book lying on the ground. She opened it and read it. It contained the address and phone number of some man named Tendo. She turned the page and saw the address and telephone of a woman called Nodoka Saotome. It was highlighted so she assumed that the woman was the child's mother. She went back to the village with the child's pack and the address book.  
  
A few months later....  
  
Nodoka walked down the trail until she saw the entrance to a secluded village, guarded by two tall women. She approached the two women and said:  
  
"I am Nodoka; I am here to see elder Cologne."  
  
"You are expected. Elder Cologne's hut is the last one on the right." One of the guards said.  
  
Nodoka thanked the guards then walked towards the hut she was pointed out. On her way there she saw a red haired little girl playing, or rather sparring, with a purple haired little girl. The red haired girl looked rather familiar to her, as if she had seen her somewhere before. She looked on for a while then shook her head to clear it out. When she reached the cabin she knocked on the door, then she went in when the door opened.  
  
"Greetings, I am Cologne." Cologne introduced herself after setting down a cup of tea and inviting her guest to seat down.  
  
"Greetings Elder Cologne, I take it you found my son?"  
  
"Yes, but before I tell you where he is, there is something I must tell you."  
  
"What is it?! What has happened to him?!"  
  
"Calm down, your son is fine. But what I am about to tell you is a little hard to believe."  
  
"We'll see after you tell me."  
  
"Very well then, when I have found your son, your husband was training him in a technique called the Neko-ken. The technique was banned not only for its fierceness, but also for the method it was taught. The trainee, usually a child of six to seven years old, is tied up in fish products and thrown into a pit of staving cats."  
  
Nodoka's face paled when she heard this. Her expression then turned to anger as she listened.  
  
"He tried to teach him the technique, and I suspect he threw him in more than once."  
  
"Where is that bastard?! I'll kill him for doing that to my child!" Nodoka said angrily.  
  
"We don't know; he escaped soon after I rescued your son. But, there's more."  
  
"What else has that bastard done?!"  
  
"He took your son to the cursed springs of Jusenkyo."  
  
"Cursed... springs of Jusenkyo?"  
  
"Yes, anyone who falls in the springs will take the form of what last drowned in there"  
  
"Which one did my son fall in?"  
  
"Spring of the drowned girl"  
  
"So...you mean, the red haired little girl I saw..."  
  
"Yes, that is him... or rather her."  
  
"Her?"  
  
"The village healer tried to cure him from his fears of the cat. But she didn't have the power to do it herself. Then the spirit that drowned in the pool appeared and gave her the power she needed. It seemed that the springs were angry with your husband for treating your son...daughter like that and had decided to help her. Unfortunately, in doing so, it made her cursed form permanent."  
  
"So my son is now my daughter?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I will take her back with me to Japan."  
  
"That is your decision to make, however, would you consider being adopted into the Amazons? I sense a great potential in your child, it would be horrible to see that potential go to waste."  
  
"It won't be necessary."  
  
"How is it so?"  
  
"The Himura clan was always considered as part of the Amazons, is it not?"  
  
"You mean..."  
  
"Yes, my maiden name is Himura. My clan had been a vital point in your survival during the wars. So we're considered as Amazons, are we not?"  
  
"Yes, that is true. May I ask you to bring your child back once every month and a half for training in Amazon techniques?"  
  
"I see no harm in that, very well. I shall accept."  
  
Nodoka and Cologne walked outside. The red haired little girl was still playing...sparring with the purple haired little girl. They laughed as they jumped and ran around trying to get a hit in.  
  
"Ranma, come here, there's someone here to see you." Cologne called out to the two playing/sparring little girls  
  
The red haired little girl heard her, jumped towards them, and landed a few inches in front of them. You can notice that she still isn't very skilled since she stumbled a little when she landed.  
  
"Ranma, this is your mo...."  
  
"Mommy!!"  
  
Before Cologne had a chance to continue, Ranma recognized Nodoka and glomped her.  
  
"My little Ranma, I'm here to take you home."  
  
"But I wanna stay here, Shampoo is my bestest friend and great-grandmother Cologne is teaching all sort of cool stuff."  
  
"That's best sweetie. Don't worry; we'll come to visit them once in a while. Then you can play with Shampoo and Cologne can teach you all sort of things, ok?  
  
"Ok mommy."  
  
Nodoka and Ranma stayed for the night and left the next morning. Ranma waved goodbye to Shampoo. Shampoo waved back and looked until both figures disappeared in the horizon. She had tears in her eyes but she wiped them away knowing that she will come back in a few weeks time.  
  
####  
  
Updated: 2 Grammar checked: 2  
  
A/N: I have decided to continue writing this, now that I have some research material for the part that I'm going to put in as the story develops (I usually watch an anime then forget about it if I don't watch it repeatedly, I remember the main parts but not the details and sometimes the names of some characters)  
  
A/N p2: Some time ago, I've been getting the idea of starting to rewrite this story, but I haven't been getting enough time to do it. Since now vacation started, and getting somebody's review made me make up that decision; so I took this story down and am going to rewrite it. (Though, I am a bit too lazy to rewrite the prologue, so I only did a few grammar checks. :P )  
  
Until next time 


	2. Chapter 01

Different life, different viewpoints

Disclaimer: Again, I must say that characters in this story are not owned by me. Except those that were actually created by me...if there were any.

" p>" indicates a scene break, in case someone thinks it's some wild code

(I couldn't get other symbols to work, so I stuck with the first one that did)

Chapter 1#

Keitaro sighed as he walked down the road, heading home from cram school. It just hadn't been his day; the last few months had been hell now that he became the manager for an all-girls dorm, to any other guy it would seem that he was in heaven, but the truth is actually something quite opposite. Often he would walk-in on a girl, usually while she is changing, and end up on the floor with cuts all over his body, or sent flying quite painfully.

He sighed again thinking of more recent events, until he suddenly bumped into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't looking at where I was walking," he apologized.

"It's alright," the person replied.

He raised his head to see who he had bumped to. A beautiful red-haired girl looked at him curiously. She wore an elegant red kimono which went well with her hair, there was a long bundle of cloth in her arms but he paid it no much attention.

"Err….. are you alright?" asked the girl.

Keitaro realized that he was staring and quickly stuttered a response while blushing heavily. The girl giggled and left while saying goodbye.

He stood there, dazed, looking at the girl until she disappeared into the crowd.

Wow, she was beautiful………oh well, time to face today's work, he thought.

"Hey, look who's here?"

He turned around to face whoever's talking to him.

"Oh, it's you guys, what's up? Haitani, Shirai?"

"The prep exam result came today, right? Once again, our chances of getting into first choice university are….."

The trio each took a pose, and said:

"2!"

"30!"

"25!"

"Mommy, mommy what are those people doing?" asked a little girl, pointing at the three.

"Well, dear. It's just that some people have an over developed sense of drama."

The three sweat-dropped as they heard this, and left quickly while laughing nervously. Rain began to fall, and they had to run quickly for a nearby bridge since they didn't have time to get out their umbrellas.

Keitaro sweat dropped again as he looked at his exam score, behind him Haitani was moaning about the time they have left until the entrance exams.

"Well, no point in worrying about it," Haitani said suddenly. "How about we go meet some babes and forget about all this?"

"In fact, here comes three of them right now" he pointed at three girls.

"Guys, I don't think this is a good idea," Keitaro said, suddenly nervous, but Haitani already started walking towards the trio of girls so he had no choice but to follow him. Suddenly, he was blown back suddenly as a strong gale appeared. He sweated again as he notice his two friends were out cold behind him.

"Urashima Keitaro….!" Said a voice that send chills down his back.

He looked up and realized why he was nervous earlier; those three girls were actually Suu, Motoko, and Naru.

"You have failed two times already, yet you still have time to chase after girls!" Motoko said threateningly.

"Well… I …."

"Humph! Keitaro: You are a disgusting and perverted man. I'm telling you right here, right now." Motoko said, pointing her sword at him.

She turned around and walked away without saying another word.

p>

Sheesh, why does that girl seem to hate me so much? Keitaro thought, looking at the tallest of the three girls walking in front of him.

They were walking up the stairs towards Hinata-sou, the rain had stopped long ago but the ground was still wet, droplets of water occasionally fell from the trees above them.

He got in and noticed that the girls have stopped in front of him, Motoko seemed shocked about something while the other two just looked at her trying to figure it out; he looked curiously at the three before moving his gaze towards the living room.

The other tenants were gathered there, their attention was focused on a girl sitting in the middle of the couch, who he noticed just now.

Hey, isn't that the girl from earlier? He thought.

Right then, his aunt Haruka entered and said, "There you are Keitaro, I was looking for you."

She walked behind the girl and announced,

"Everyone, this is Ranko; she's the daughter of a friend of mine who asked me to let her stay here until she finishes her studies at Toudai,"

"Hello everyone, my name his Ranko Himura, hajimemashite" Ranko greeted. Her smile seemed to brighten up the room, the others couldn't help but smile back; all except for one, that is.

"You!" shouted Motoko, drawing everyone's attention.

"Motoko! Long time no see," Ranko said happily.

"Oh, you know each other?" Naru asked.

"She was the only one to beat my sister in ten years! And she's only three years older than I am!"

"What!"

"Yes, my sister was the best swordswoman in the family, and she beat her with only three strikes. Though I still don't get why they became friends after that," She said, anger and doubt were showed clearly on her visage.

They turned their gaze at Ranko, beginning to see her in a new light.

But they were interrupted by Haruka, who cleared her throat to get their attention.

"Well, if you are finished over there, I must be going now." She said, then pulled Keitaro in front of Ranko.

"This is my nephew, Keitaro. He's also the manager of the inn, so if you have any problems don't hesitate to ask him."

"Oh, you're that boy from earlier," Ranko said.

"Err… Hi," said Keitaro, not knowing what to say as he suddenly became the center of attention in the room.

Naru glared at him.

"Keitaro! What did you do to her earlier?"

"N-n-nothing! I just bumped into her that's all….!" He stuttered nervously while trying to explain to Naru.

"Ahem," every one turned to look at Haruka.

"Well, I'll be leaving Keitaro. I'm putting things in your hand, take her to room 303 and show her around the place, I'll be in the cafe if you need me." Haruka said to Keitaro.

"Sure Aunt...I mean Haruka..."

He laughed nervously until his Haruka left and started to introduce the other tenants to Ranko, after that everyone left to do their own things except Naru who insisted to accompany Keitaro on showing Ranko her room and around the complex.

p>

The next morning they awoke to the sounds of metal clashing and battle cries. They dressed hurriedly and went outside, what they saw amazed them...

Motoko and Ranko were fighting with moves that seemed impossible to a normal person, what amazed them more was that Motoko was the one who looked winded while Ranko still looked as energetic as ever.

Mitsune walked out, still looking sleepy.

"Yawn, why do they have to do that in the mornings, there are still people sleeping you know."

"Wow, look at them go!" Suu said excitedly.

Motoko has never been this badly pressed before, except for when she was practicing against her sister. She tried attacking but her attacks were either blocked or evaded. The two swords clashed, and she jumped away to get some breathing space. Her feet felt like cement and she doubted that she could take this much longer, sweat was pouring down her brow and her breathing was heavy.

Is she even human? All this moving around and she isn't even winded, She thought.

They stood there, looking at each other. A breeze blew by, carrying off some leaves. Ranko nodded then sheathed her sword and bowed respectfully at her opponent. Motoko bowed back in response.

As soon as she left, Motoko crashed into the ground in exhaustion.

The girls ran to her side to see if she was alright.

"Wow, that was amazing. I guess you weren't joking when you said she was good," commented Mitsune.

"S-she's really strong," said Motoko, panting. She was half-kneeling on the ground, using her sword as support.

"Let's get you inside, you're probably tired," said Naru, holding out her hand. Motoko took it and stood up with her help. As she entered the building with Naru and the others, a stray thought entered her mind.

Were those fangs that I saw?

p>

Ranko hummed happily as she headed for the bath, reflecting over the sparring she just did with Motoko. The girl had potential, she had to admit, but the restrictions she placed on herself hampered her training. She always compared herself with her sister, if she remembered right. As long as she kept thinking of herself as inferior to her elder sister, then she will never surpass her own self-placed limits and reach her true potential.

She sighed, there was nothing she could do for now. On the other hand, the tenants here were nice, and the interaction between the manager and Miss Naru was just plain fun to watch, even if she felt a bit sorry for the boy.

Suddenly, her sense flared as she felt something coming behind and she dodged, just in time to see a blue blur go past and crash in front of her.

"Oh my, are you alright?" she asked, looking at the blonde haired girl who is just getting up from the ground.

"Owie, yeah, I'm ok, he he he," Suu replied, laughing awkwardly then left running. "Bye now,"

"What an energetic little girl," Ranko commented before continuing on her way.

p>

Keitaro walked around the compounds, hoping that the walk would help clear his thoughts. With all that has happened lately, he has had trouble trying to concentrate his thoughts on studying. He sighed; then there was that problem with the Kendo-girl, Motoko, who has threatened him many times already.

He was broken out of his reverie when he heard the sounds of someone practicing; it was coming from the laundry hanging area so he decided to take a look.

Oh, it's just Motoko. Didn't she spar this morning with Ranko? he thought,

what the...she's cutting airborne leaves?

Suddenly, he was startled by a small throwing knife that barely missed him, lodging itself on the rail in front of his face from where he watched on the stairs.

"Keitaro Urashima, first you're chasing girls and now you're peeping?" she said angrily, "I am not like Naru. I won't hesitate to get you out, by force if I need to."

She emphasized her point by starting to draw her sword. She turned around to continue her practice. However, she was startled by Suu, who suddenly appeared out of a branch in front of her, and was caught by Keitaro when she fell backwards.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Let go of me, I can take care of myself!" Motoko shouted in his face, blushing.

Why am I blushing like this? she started thinking.

p>

Dinner wasn't exactly a quiet affair, Keitaro was finally allowed at the table but a few comments had earned him a glare from Naru. Motoko's behavior was strange and left everyone confused, her face was all red and acted awkwardly around Keitaro. She left the table early after finishing her meal fast, but not without bumping into a nearby pole then stumbling on a bucket next to it.

"Motoko's acting really weird," said Suu.

"Did you do something to Motoko too?" Naru said, looking at Keitaro.

"What are you talking about?" he replied, dumbfounded.

Ranko frownedas she remembered something she sensed in her aura when they were sparring in the morning.

A while later Motoko was bathing in the springs, trying to sort things out. She upended a bucket of cold water over her head, shivering at the cold.

What's wrong with me, when I looked at him I got all nervous and started blushing, she thought, hugging her legs. This was all unfamiliar to her, having dedicated her life to training. She never thought about it before, thinking that all guys were perverts.

My heart kept pounding and I kept blanking out; am I in love with him? This cannot be!

She got up and walked into the spring, sighing as she let the warmth of the springs take away the cold. She looked at the stars for a while before returning to her thoughts.

Now that I think about it, I've never really spoken to a guy before, and Keitaro was the first…. she thought, getting more and more agitated.

"…still! I will not admit that you are my first love, Keitaro Urashima!"

She did not realize that she had spoken the last part out loud, and that someone had heard her. Keitaro entered, hearing someone call his name. He started sweating at the sight before him. He walked in on a girl, again. But this time, he's afraid for his life as Motoko started trembling, visibly holding in her anger.

Keitaro was sweating visibly as he looked at the angry Motoko in front of him. He was covered with protective gear and held a bokken in his hands. They were in front of a fall on a clearing in the forest behind Hinata-sou.

p>

Motoko stared icily at him and said, "Keitaro Urashima, I challenge you. If you win I will forget about this whole business. If I win you will get out of Hinata-sou!"

"Whaat! I'll never beat you in kendo!"

"It's too late now!" she said, running towards him, bokken in hand.

Keitaro dodged to the side as her strike cleaved the boulder behind him in half. He started running around, while Motoko followed relentlessly with the intent to kill. The girls watched in the safety of the bank.

"Shouldn't someone stop them?" Naru said.

"Well, we could try, but I don't think any of us are capable of stopping Motoko, except for….." said Mitsune.

"Ranko!" said the two simultaneously.

The turned around to look for her, only to find her sitting on a blanket she laid out drinking tea.

How can she drink tea so calmly at a time like this thought the two.

"Hey! Look at that!" came an exclamation from Suu, and they turned their gaze back at the battle.

Keitaro was running for his life, for some unknown reason, Motoko's strikes missed, but there were those that came really close.

I can't keep this up forever, at this rate I'll end up dead! he thought desperately,Well, in that case….

Motoko growled in anger, looking for her target. He disappeared sometime during her pursuit and now she's looking around, trying to find him, a figure suddenly jumped out of the spring behind her and grabbed her.

"I can't die, not before I get into Toudai!" she could hear Keitaro whispering behind her.

"Let go of me, you fool!" she said angrily.

His breathing…..why do I feel so weak? she thought.

"Let go! Arrgh…..my clothes!" she said while trying to grab hold of the pants he was unknowingly pulled down when he stepped on the edge of it during the confusion.

My heart, it's beating so wildly…..I can't breath……am I really in love with him, With this weakling?

"Get off!" she pushed him off, sending his bokken flying. She raised her own bokken for the final strike, but she sneezed during the downswing, taking the power out of the strike, at the same time the other bokken decided to fall down, hitting her head as her strike hit her target.

"Wow, a double KO," said Suu.

"So it's a tie then?" said Mitsune.

The rest of the tenants sweat dropped at the sight while Ranko sipped her tea, smiling.

I knew she wouldn't last long, not with her fever... She thought.

p>

Ranko gently placed a cold rag on Motoko's forehead as she examined the girl. Her face was flushed and she was sweating a lot, occasionally she would mumble something about 'Keitaro' and 'first love'.

"She has a really bad cold," said Naru.

"She shouldn't have trained under the rain," Mitsune said.

"No wonder she was acting weird at dinner today."

"For now, there's nothing we can do, let's just let her rest." Ranko said.

She retrieved her futon from her room and rolled it out next to Motoko's. "I'll stay here for the night and make sure she's alright, so you don't have to worry."

"You sure? You don't really have to do that though," said Mitsune.

"Well, I'm heading back to bed, see you in the morning."

They excused themselves and left for their respective rooms. Soon, lights were out and everyone fell asleep.

p>

Somewhere in Hinata-sou, something long glowed ominously before flickering out. A certain red-haired girl frowned in her sleep.

Chapter End

A/N: Tell me what you think, after my long hiatus I am beginning to think that my writing skills have become worse than before.

Anyway I've decided that I'll put more effort into describing things, so my chapters will probably become longer, much longer. Also, some things were changed in the story. Those who actually liked the story will probably notice them.

Don't forget to review, comments and flames are welcome. After all, "What doesn't kill you will make you stronger."

I've been reevaluating my writings, so your comments/advices will probably affect how I write in the future, especially now that I've moved to a country where English isn't the first language.

That's it for now,

Btw, can someone tell me how to work the edit/preview thing in document manager? This document didn't come out like I wanted it to look like. There are parts that I wanted to separate ( as indicated by the " p>") but they dissapeared once I clicked 'save changes'.


	3. Chapter 02

Different Life, Different Viewpoints  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. All of them belong to their respective owners except for those that I may have developed on my own.  
  
Chapter 2:  
  
It was morning and Suu sat on the roof playing with some pigeons. She had something for them to eat in her hands; she fed them for a while then watched them fly around until she heard Keitaro begging Naru to teach him.  
  
"Come on Naru, please. It should be an easy job for you, you were on first place in the National Mock exams," Keitaro begged.  
  
"When I say no, it means no! I already do not have enough time to study myself, what makes you think I'm going to have time to teach you," Naru replied.  
  
At this instant, Ranko came up behind them just in time to see Suu jump kick Keitaro and land on top of his head, her skirt covering his head.  
  
"Morning Keitaro!!" Suu screamed while jump kicking him.  
  
"Oops, landing failure," she said when she landed on his head.  
  
"Suu, you're just so energetic..." Naru said while sweat dropping.  
  
"Oh my, is everything ok here?" Ranko said, smiling sweetly.  
  
"No, everything's fine, Suu just had a 'landing failure' " Naru replied after Keitaro got himself out of where he was.  
  
"What did you think you were doing, crazy Indian girl?" Keitaro shouted, "What's this about all of a sudden?"  
  
"How did you like my salute?" she said innocently,   
  
"And no, I'm not Indian" she added.  
  
"Err...Keitaro your nose is bleeding," Ranko pointed out.  
  
"What are you getting a nosebleed for, it's just a middle school girl's panties." Naru asked.  
  
"It's not about her panties, it was her jump kick that did this," he explained hurriedly.  
  
"Oh, you wanted to see my panties Keitaro?" asked Suu.  
  
"Go straight ahead." She said then lifted her skirt up. Naru covered her up in a hurry while Keitaro turned around in embarrassment, sweat dropping; you could hear Ranko saying 'Oh My' in the background.  
  
After things quieted down, the four of them walked downstairs where they met Motoko. She was wearing her school uniform and had a bag in her hands along with her katana.  
  
"Are you going somewhere, Motoko?" asked Naru.  
  
"Yeah, I'll be gone for the next few days due to training camp." Motoko answered while Suu climbed on top of her head.  
  
"Please remember to lock up the doors at night during the time of my absence."  
  
"Don't go too near him, his stupidity could be contagious," she then said to Suu while Keitaro wondered why Suu and Motoko always seemed to be together.  
  
"Remember Suu, beware of Keitaro."  
  
After Motoko left, Suu spaced out for a little while then smiled mischievously while looking at Keitaro. Naru and Keitaro looked back at her with a strange expression on their faces. All Suu did after Motoko left was to follow Keitaro all day; he was getting annoyed of her.  
  
"Stop following me!!!" he screamed at her.  
  
"Aww.........I really won't bother you, Keitaro," she said, hugging him.........HARD.  
  
"OK, ok, you're suffocating me."  
  
He went back to his room to study with Suu still following him. While he studied she ran around his room until she came upon a certain book of his. She asked him what it was and he panicked, trying to get it back. Upstairs, Naru couldn't take the noise anymore and looked through the hole on the ground of her room. When Keitaro chased Suu around his room trying to get his book back, Suu had tripped and Keitaro ended up on top of her in a very awkward position; that was when Naru looked down. Naturally, she jumped down and used the momentum to hit him.  
  
"So why are you here again?" Keitaro asked a while later, sitting at the table in his room across from Naru and Suu at the right side of the table.  
  
"If I leave you two alone who knows what will happen," she answered.  
  
"Fine, I'll study quietly; that's what I wanted anyway."  
  
They studied quietly for a while but Suu quickly got bored. She picked up the magazine that had caused the commotion a while earlier and showed it to Naru.  
  
"Look Naru, it's Keitaro's hidden porn magazine." She said, pointing at the said item in her hands.  
  
"He's a guy, so it's normal, the important thing right now is studying." Naru responded.  
  
"What a boring response," Suu said, looking at Naru, then Keitaro.  
  
Naru and Keitaro were so concentrated on studying that they didn't realize that dinnertime had passed. Suu was starting to complain about how hungry she was when Ranko and Shinobu entered with some snacks.  
  
"Hi, sorry for interrupting, Ranko and I thought you might want to have some snacks," Shinobu said.  
  
"Might as well take a break, we've been studying for a while," Naru sighed, closing her notebook.  
  
"It's that late already? I can't believe we missed dinner," said Keitaro in disbelief.  
  
"I was going to call you, but seeing that you two were so concentrated on studying I didn't have the heart to interrupt you," said Ranko.  
  
"Well, don't stay up too late," she added then left with Shinobu, smiling.  
  
The two of them ate in silence, and oddly enough, so did Suu. After they finished, they returned the plates and continued studying. After a while, Naru decided to turn in for the day. She was going to leave but stopped when she saw that Suu was preparing to sleep in Keitaro's room. Suu explained that she always slept in Motoko's room when she was here, so Naru decided to pass the night in Keitaro's room so as to 'protect' Suu. An awkward silence passed but was broken when Suu decided to start a pillow fight with Keitaro. Naru wasn't going to join in until Keitaro accidentally tripped and pulled down her pajamas. She didn't use a pillow as her weapon though.........she used a chair.  
  
"You're both pretty good," said Suu.  
  
"Tired........." gasped Keitaro.  
  
"Hehe, being with you two reminds me of my oniisan and oneesan. Today's my happiest day in Japan." She said cheerfully.  
  
"Err........." said both Naru and Keitaro, not knowing how to respond.  
  
The night passed quietly.........almost. While Naru and Suu slept, Keitaro lay awake pondering about the events of the last few weeks and what's to come. He felt a pair of hands grab him and his eyes bugged out when he saw that they belonged to Suu. Naru had woken up and was about to pound him when she heard Suu talk about her brother in her sleep. They stayed awake for awhile, discussing about Suu, that was when Suu decided to hug Keitaro even harder.  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" screamed someone and a loud crash was heard not a while later.  
  
"Yep, a very 'tiring' event indeed," remarked Kitsune.  
  
The next day a tired Naru and Keitaro appeared in the living room while Suu followed them, looking cheerful. Naru sweat dropped when Suu asked if she could sleep in her room tonight. She thanked the gods when Ranko offered to let Suu sleep in her room.   
  
The next morning though, she and the rest of the tenants were shocked when Ranko appeared without a trace of being tired or annoyed. In fact, she was talking happily with Suu while carrying her on her shoulders.  
  
"This.........it must have something to do with practicing kendo,' said Kitsune while sweat dropping.  
  
A/N: Whew, another chapter ended. Though I am still writing slow I still can't upload due to the absence of internet :P. Well, I guess I'll just have to wait until I have time to do so. Sigh   
  
And don't worry, I'll reread and double-check as many times as I can. I also welcome your reviews, be it good.........or bad. .0  
  
Well, C ya! 


	4. Chapter 03

Different Life, Different Viewpoints  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. All of them belong to their respective owners except for those that I may have developed on my own.  
  
Yawn... Chapter three:  
  
Time flew by and soon Christmas came, Keitaro and Naru walked up the stairs leading towards Hinata-sou. Having just finished their classes, they walked home together, talking about things along the way. Beyond the end of the stairs, the rest of the tenants were busy decorating for Christmas; they selected a tree in the yard and used it as a Christmas tree. A ladder was put along it and Motoko was on top of it hanging decorations.  
  
As Keitaro and Naru walked up the stairs, it could be seen that he seemed excited about something. It appears that his average has gone up and he was excited because he actually has more of a chance to pass this year. He was going to prove it with the practice test they are having tomorrow. This was when Haruka came out of Hinata-sou, telling Keitaro that he has a phone call.  
  
"Hello?" He said into the phone,  
"Oh, hi mom. Huh? Go home? Why?"  
"Yeah, I'm taking the exam again this year. No, I'm actually doing better this year."  
"Well, tell you what, if I fail that practice test I'm taking tomorrow then I'll go home straight away; Ok, bye"  
  
With that, he hung up and skipped away happily, going to study. The other tenants who were watching this sweat dropped. The next morning, he woke up and got dressed. It was an interesting party they had last night. Suddenly, he remembered that he still had Naru's notebook, so he climbed up the hole in his ceiling to return it. Unfortunately, Naru was up getting dressed and clobbered him for peeping on her. At breakfast, the other tenants commented on his newly formed bruise.  
  
"Hey Keitaro, what's with that bruise?" asked Suu.  
  
"Heh, it must be from peeping on Naru," joked Kitsune.  
  
"No!! It was an accident, I swear!!" he answered in a panic as Motoko put her blade on his throat.  
  
"Oh, dear.........I think you should calm down Motoko," Ranko said.  
"If it bothers you that much, why don't you just fix the hole then?" she suggested.  
  
"Well.........that room used to belong to grandma Hina," Naru said.  
"Hey Keitaro, you're the manager, why don't you go fix that hole?" she then asked, turning to Keitaro.  
  
"But that hole is very convenient."  
  
"Not for me!!"  
  
Hmm.........then that means that the only thing separating their rooms is a thin piece of board thought Kitsune.  
"Then what happens when you hear 'strange' sounds in the middle of the night?" she wondered out loud.  
  
"What strange sounds?!?!" screamed Keitaro and Naru at the same time.  
  
The rest of the tenants sweat-dropped as Kitsune explained in a hurry that she was only joking. Soon everyone was finished and the dishes were washed. They left for their respective rooms to mind their own businesses. A while later Keitaro stood in his room staring at the chair he had put on his table and then gazing at the hole on his roof.  
  
I guess I really should fix that hole, I am the manager after all......... he thought then went up the chair.  
  
He knocked on the board a couple of times before deciding that there was nobody in. He removed the board and propped himself through it. The room was dark as Naru was outside somewhere. He pulled up his tools and began the task of boarding up the hole. He daydreamed as worked then accidentally bumped into the bookcase when he stood up. A couple of books were knocked over and he panicked trying to put them back to their place. One of them was open and he glanced over its contents when he went over to pick it up.  
  
It was Naru's diary. Unable to resist his curiosity he picked it up and started to read through it. Before he was able to read more than a sentence he heard the door open and a sense of dread came upon him. He turned around and saw Naru staring angrily at him.  
  
"What are you reading?" she asked in a monotonous voice, anger evident in her eyes.  
  
"Ahh.........N-Narusegawa," he stuttered out.  
  
"What are you doing reading my diary?!!"  
  
"I-I was here fixing the floor!!" he explained in a panic.  
  
"Get OUT!!!" she shouted then hit him so hard that he went through the hole that he had just boarded up.  
  
He lay on the floor of his room looking up at the hole in the roof when he regained consciousness. He gazed at it for a while then turned his eyes away in shame.  
  
"I-I did something I shouldn't have done........."  
  
Omake #1  
  
Hmm.........then that means that the only thing separating their rooms is a thin piece of board thought Kitsune.  
"Then what happens when you hear 'strange' sounds in the middle of the night?" she wondered out loud.  
  
She was surprised when both of them blushed heavily and looked away from each other.  
  
"Y-you mean?........." she managed to get out.  
  
The two of them were still blushing. Keitaro was staring intently at his two index fingers which he was playing with. Naru gave a small but nervous nod then hid her eyes with her bangs.  
  
"W-why?" Kitsune asked.  
  
"W-well, it seemed a good idea at the time........." said Naru blushing.  
  
The entire Hinata-sou could be seen shaking the rest of the tenants face-faulted and Shinobu's crying could be heard miles away............  
  
The end............?  
  
A/N: Ok...here, I'm done. Finally took my time to finish another chapter instead of reading other people's works ( I usually do that more rather than to finish my own works :P). I wrote my first Omake, too (Dunno where that came from, it just popped out of my mind)  
Any comments or flames are welcome. After all, what can't kill you can make you grow. :P  
  
C ya next time.  
  
Rochchen, over and OUT 


	5. Chapter 04

Different Life, Different Viewpoints 4  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters here belong to their respective owners. I claim no ownership over them.  
  
Chapter 4:  
  
Two weeks has passed. Keitaro gave a sigh as he stood in front of a kiosk outside of the cram school he goes. Naru still hasn't forgiven him for what he had done. He had even tried to apologize by buying her a gift. He waited as the old man searched for his test results. He looked at it and froze.........he had gotten a 'D'.  
  
Later that day, Keitaro walked dejectedly along the road.  
  
"What can I do.........?" he asked himself as it began to snow.  
  
I-I can't go back; I can't appear there again after I proudly said that I was going to make it this time. Damn me and my pride, but I was so sure after all those study sessions with Naru. M-maybe I should just give up and go home......... he thought as he looked at the snowing sky.  
  
After making his decision, he stopped and looked blankly forward for a while before realizing his wallet wasn't there. All of his belongings were still back in Hinata-sou. He sighed decided he still had to go back.  
  
On a nearby corner, Ranko, who had secretly been following him when she saw him, looked at him with a worried expression on her face.  
  
He gazed at the lit Hinata-sou, his expression unreadable. Sounds drifted from the inside where the tenants were preparing for the party.  
  
"Where could Keitaro be? He couldn't have gotten into an accident could he?" a voice drifted from the inside.  
  
Ahh.........Kitsune is worried about me thought Keitaro and was so moved by it that tears flowed.  
  
"Nah, he probably failed the test and couldn't bear to face us," continued Kitsune.  
  
"You're probably right," said another voice.  
  
Keitaro froze at hearing this. When he was able to move again he made up his decision and sneaked into his room via the window.  
He packed in a hurry then tied a handkerchief around his head in order to keep from being recognized. He was about to leave through the corridor when he was discovered by Shinobu. He was mistaken for a thief and was chased around by Motoko.  
  
During his escape he was frequently hit by her attacks. Turning around a corridor he bumped into Naru. He hesitated for a while before continuing his escape. He jumped over the rail but fell into the springs. Unable to see him anywhere, Motoko stopped her search for him and went to discuss with the rest of the tenants the reason as to there being a thief and what he was there to steal.  
  
"He's good." said Motoko returning from her search.  
  
"But what was there to steal?' wondered Kitsune.  
  
"That wasn't a thief, it was Keitaro," said Naru, coming up behind them.  
  
"What?" Everyone turned to look at her.  
  
"He dropped this,' she said, showing them a piece of paper.  
"This is the reason why he did that"  
  
"Gee, poor guy.........0%. No wonder he ran away"  
  
"We have to look for him" panicked Shinobu.  
  
"Let's just leave him alone." Said Naru "It'll probably be better that way."  
  
"The real test is just a month away; do you really think he'll improve enough to pass?"  
  
"Are you sure?" Haruka said, appearing behind Naru.  
  
"The truth is.........his grades did improve after coming to Hinata-sou."  
  
"Weren't you just like him two years ago, Naru?" she continued. "If you two part now, wouldn't he feel lonely?"  
  
"Besides, if he freezes to death, his ghost will haunt you." She joked.  
  
They separated and left to search for Keitaro. Naru stayed behind, gazing at the night sky, wondering what she should do. She never felt someone appear behind her.  
  
"You're worried about him, aren't you?" said Ranko, appearing suddenly.  
  
"Ranko, you startled me." said Naru, surprised.  
  
"If you're worried about him, why don't you go look for him?" Ranko continued with a serious expression on her face.  
  
"W-why would I be worried about him?" said Naru, starting to get uneasy about the direction this conversation is going.  
  
"Don't deny it," said Ranko. Then her expression softened and her almost ever-present smile returned.  
"After all, it's not good for your health to suppress your feelings.' she continued, smiling.  
"Here, this is something he dropped," she said then handed her a card.  
"I hope it might change you mind."  
  
After she left, Naru looked at the card that was thrust into her hands. It had the picture of a reindeer on it and it said 'For Naru, I'm sorry.  
She gazed at it for a while then ran off somewhere. A little bit behind her, Ranko smile mischievously and took out a handheld video camcorder.  
  
At that time, Keitaro walked towards Toudai, hoping to get a last glance before he gave up on it for good. He gazed at it with a bit of longing before he noticed someone walking towards him.  
  
"N-Narusegawa," he started.  
  
"I-I'm sorry for reading your diary," he continued "I only read a small part of it, trust me"  
  
He face-faulted when he noticed that she was buying hot yam and not even paying attention to him.  
  
"I'm going to leave Hinata-sou, Naru" he said seriously when she returned.  
  
"Keitaro, don't say anything," she said to him with a soft expression on her face.  
  
Surprised, he complied.  
  
"Now close your eyes," she continued.  
  
"L-like this?" he asked after doing what he was told.  
  
He was surprised again when she hit him after that.  
  
"That felt good," she said, smiling.  
"If you leave, I will have no one to yell at," she continued.  
"Try your best. Don't give up because the prep exam didn't go well; now get up." She said, offering her hand.  
  
"Thanks" he said then took her offered hand.  
"Here" Naru said, handing him one of the hot yams she just bought.  
  
He turned around to talk to Naru when he finished eating. Only to get a snowball to hit him right in the face. He cleared it off his face to see Naru grinning with mischief.  
  
"Hey!" he cried out indignantly.  
  
Then a snowball fight ensued.  
  
Hidden inside a handy tree nearby, Ranko grinned as she recorded all of it with her camcorder. When the two of them were so tired that they fell down near each other, she closed her camcorder then disappeared.  
  
Not knowing that someone was spying on them. Naru and Keitaro fought all out. Finally they got tired and fell down near each other. Looking at the other with a huge grin on their faces.  
  
"I haven't had this much fun in a while," said Naru.  
  
"Neither have I" Keitaro said; then protested as Naru threw a snowball at him again.  
  
"Hey!!!"  
  
Their snowball fight continued until they were too tired to move. They were discovered by Motoko who dragged them both home.  
  
A/N: Another chapter finished, I hope. I felt kinda lazy this time and wrote this in a hurry. (though I still wrote a lot :P) I took some parts from my old version of this story and made modifications to it. I hope you don't find this annoying :P  
  
Again I will say that compliments or flames are all welcome. I was hoping to upload chapter three today but there was some complications so I will have to upload it with this chapter when I have time. (Though I wonder I bother to write this since there's no way you guys would know that before I wrote this here and probably never would have if I didn't write this.)  
  
Well, see you next time, readers. ;) 


	6. Chapter 05

Different Life, Different Viewpoints  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina or any of its characters. I don't own Ranma 1/2 either nor the characters that seldom appear in this story.  
  
Chapter 5:  
  
1999, New Years Eve.........  
  
Keitaro sat in his room, a look of extreme concentration on his face. He mumbled as he wrote something over and over in his notebook.  
  
"3000 Useful Vocabulary List, rewritten five times already!" He shouted out as he finished.  
  
He dropped down on his desk, exhausted. He had been studying for 48 hours already non-stop. He struggled as he concentrated on getting back up to study. He cried happily as he thought of the person behind this big change.  
  
A while later he was standing on the roof, shouting defiantly at his fate.  
  
"Work! Work! So what if my chances of getting in are 0%! I'll get into Tokyo U, Naru! Work!"  
  
He turned around to walk away only to fall off the roof. Fortunately he fell into the tree. As he tried to get up a bird flying over him decided to relieve it self and poor Keitaro was the recipient of its droppings.  
  
"Arrgh, what luck, and it's New Year too........." he said as he got off the tree and jumped onto the third floor.  
  
"Hey Keitaro, what are you doing up so early in the morning?" said a voice in front of him.  
  
He raised his head only to see Mitsune and Suu dressed in Kimonos. Motoko was dressed in priestess clothes.  
  
"Come on, Shinobu, don't be embarrassed," said Ranko as she tried to drag out said person.  
  
She was reluctantly dragged out by Ranko, blushing heavily.  
  
"H-happy New Year," she said shyly.  
  
"Whoa," said Keitaro before remembering to answer.  
  
"A-ah, I should be the one to say that; Happy New Year," he said, bowing.  
"You look cute in a Kimono," he added.  
  
"T-thanks," Shinobu answered, still blushing.  
  
"Aunt Haruka loves Kimono, so we wear them every year." Mitsune explained.  
Though Ranko seems to wear them very often, she thought.  
  
It was true though, at least once out of every week Ranko could be seen wearing Kimono. Usually it was on weekends when she went out shopping though.  
  
Ranko was at the side, watching as Suu showed Keitaro her 'lion'. She noticed Mitsune watching her and turned around to smile at her. She looked confused when Mitsune sweat-dropped nervously and turned away.  
  
Mitsune then walked up to Keitaro and invited Keitaro to go with them to the shrine. At first, he declined, but after she said that Naru was going too he agreed. That was when Naru came out of her room. He turned around, expecting to see her in a Kimono. He face-faulted when he saw her wearing her 'Salem' pullover. She also had her hair tied up in two braids.  
  
At last, they headed for the shrine. The place was crowded, after going to say some prayers they separated.  
  
Ranko sat down in a bench near a tree and took out some beverages. She opened one and threw it quickly behind her with a flick of her wrist.  
  
"What are you doing here, Ryoga?" she said to a person hidden behind the tree.  
  
"Just coming to check up on you, Ranko-chan," he said, taking a sip from the drink Ranko threw him.  
  
"Don't call me that, our relationship is over; you know that," she said angrily.  
  
"I know," he said, walking over to put a hand on her shoulder. Only to get thrown over.  
  
As he tried to get the cobwebs out of his head, he saw a figure standing in front of him, offering him a hand. After his vision cleared out enough to see who it was, he took the offered hand and stood up.  
  
"Your act is as bad as ever, Ryoga Hibiki," Ranko smirked.  
  
"I could say the same about yours, Ranko Himura," he retorted.  
"Geez, couldn't you have used some other less painful way to greet me?" he asked, rubbing his back.  
  
"Sorry," Ranko apologized.  
  
"So what do we do today?" she asked.  
  
"Dunno, maybe catch up on old times?" he suggested.  
  
"Aww, you know that part of our lives is over. Come on, I saw a stand over there that sold your favorite food."  
  
I wish you could notice it, but I'm still in love with you, Ranko. thought Ryoga before running after her.  
  
On the other side of the shrine, Keitaro was trying his hands on a fortune telling talisman. Motoko warned him that the talismans of this shrine were pretty accurate. He laughed saying he wasn't afraid of it before looking at his talisman and froze.  
  
The talisman said "Extreme Bad Luck"  
  
He walked around worried about it. When he read the part about staying away from high places and anima droppings he sweat dropped remembering what had happened this morning.  
  
He thought it had to be a coincidence but as things happened right when he read them from the talisman he began to believe it.  
  
A part of it said "Keep away from the opposite sex for it will bring misfortune to both". So naturally, when Shinobu came near him, he panicked and told her to stay away from him. Unfortunately, this caused her to run away crying. When this happened he began to believe more in the talisman.  
  
Later, he met up with Motoko and Suu. Due to a series of events that happened he ended up being chased by them.  
  
On yet another side of the shrine, Naru was looking for an examinee's talisman when she saw Ranko with some guy.  
  
Hey, isn't that Ranko? Who's that guy she's with? Hey! Maybe it's her boyfriend, she thought.  
  
She hid in a bush looking at them, not being able to resist her curiosity. That was when Keitaro ran by being chased by Motoko and Suu. This caused her to trip over and she got up only to meet the face of Ranko. She smiled nervously.  
  
Keitaro stopped to get his breath back after finally losing them both. He saw a woman lying on the ground, apparently unconscious. He went over to help her only to find out that it was Mitsune and that she was drunk.  
She was half way through seducing him when the other tenants discovered them. Naturally, he was beaten up by Motoko and Naru while Ryoga stood at the side with Ranko and sweat dropped.  
  
And I thought mine and Ranko's lives were weird......... he thought.  
  
After Keitaro was beaten senseless Ranko was bombarded with questions about Ryoga.  
  
Later that day, Keitaro sat in his room putting bandages on his injuries. He was worried because the last part of the talisman might just be true. It said "At this rate, might fail again."  
  
He was thinking about this when someone took the talisman from his hands.  
  
"You idiot." Naru said as she took the talisman from his hands.  
"I heard about it; let's go tie this on a tree"  
  
"N-Naru........." he said surprised, looking at Naru who was wearing a Kimono.  
  
"Since everyone was wearing it, I wanted to try it out as well. So how do I look?" she said and stuck out her tongue mischievously.  
  
"Wow, you look nice. It suits you." He said while blushing.  
  
Well, At least I got to see Naru in a Kimono he thought as they walked away talking about random stuff.

A/n: Hmm........ I admit, this chapter might be seen a bit rushed. At least I'll be getting internet tomorrow and will be able to update the chapters I've written lately. I have this nagging in the back of my head saying 'I did it again.........' though. What did I do again? I can't seem to figure out.


	7. Chapter 06

Different Life, Different Viewpoints 

Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina or any of its characters. I don't own Ranma 1/2 either nor the characters that seldom appear in this story.

Chapter 6:

The day before the exam.........

Keitaro sighed as he walked up the stairs towards Hinata-sou. His face showed worry as he thought about the exam that was coming up tomorrow. He took off his shoes as he entered and bumped into Naru as she walked down the stairs. She tripped and he somehow managed to catch her. Unfortunately he lost his footing and both of them rolled down the stairs.

Naru was walking down the stair in deep thought when she felt someone bump into her. She lost her balance and she closed her eyes as she prepared for the inevitable fall. She felt a pair of hands catch her and was about to open her eyes to see who it was when gravity resumed its hold on them and both of then were sent tumbling down the stairs.

After a painful drop down the stairs, Keitaro found himself in a precarious position: There was a very beautiful girl lying on top of him; now most guys would feel fortunate about this, but not for Keitaro. The girl currently lying on top of his was known for his short stay here to hit him for any sort of 'perverted' action he did, whether intentional or not, so it was reasonable for him to feel afraid when he felt the girl on top of him opening her eyes.

Naru felt dizzy after the fall down the stair, fortunately for her, something soft cushioned her fall. She opened her eyes to see what it was only to look into a pair of brown eyes. She stared into them for a while before a twitch on her chest brought her back to you get off me already,¡¨ said Keitaro, hoping to keep her from noticing that he was unintentionally grabbing her breasts.

"Oh......right," Naru replied, blushing.

She got off him quickly, and pretended that nothing happened. Beside her, Keitaro got up and sighed in relief while brushing himself off.

Why am I blushing like this? wondered Naru.

"Tomorrow's the exam, so you're taking a rest?" she asked him, trying to take her mind off of what just happened.

"Yeah...... He he," he said quickly while hiding the book he was studying behind his back.  
"Of course, cramming doesn't help any"

"Ooh, confident,"

The both of them were interrupted when Kitsune appeared behind them. She had a tray in her hands and she quickly dragged them both towards the back of the inn.

"1.2.3, GO!! HOPE YOU BOTH CAN PASS!!!!" they screamed as the two examinees entered. Confetti flew down from the ceiling and the two of them were surprised.

Motoko was at the side of the room drumming while Suu had pompons in her hands cheering. Kitsune quickly sat down and brought out a bottle of wine. Shinobu served them both while wishing them luck. The party progressed well into the night.

Meanwhile, the remaining tenant of Hinata-sou.......

Ranko was dressed in her usual kimono while talking to and older woman sitting in front of her. They were at a cafe somewhere near the center of the district. The cafe was well decorated but most of the seats were empty. Soothing music played at the background and most of the people in there chatted happily amongst themselves.

"But mom, I can take care of myself, you know that," Ranko said, apparently losing the argument. This was a side of Ranko that no one in Hinata-sou has ever seen. This side of Ranko seemed to be more like a normal girl her age rather than the false mask of a cheerful albeit a little air-headed young woman she assumed whenever she was in the company of most people.

"Now, now Ko-chan, I know that you can take care of yourself just fine. But you can't blame a mother for wanting to check up on her daughter from time to time could you? Besides, Kasumi-chan said she wanted to go along," the woman, now revealed as Nodoka, answered.

"What!! Kasumi-neesan is coming?" she said in surprise, her attitude towards the situation changing completely.

Nodoka smiled inwardly as she took out her ace, Kasumi. Her daughter would agree to just about anything when she was mentioned. God knows how much she idolized her. She even went as far as imitating her ever-cheerful attitude.

It all started 14 years ago, she reminisced as they randomly chatted after getting the matter solved.

Little Ranko was 6 years old that year. A year after that fateful accident that changed her life forever, it was also that accident that led to the reunion of mother and......daughter.

They had headed for the Tendo dojo, hoping to find her wayward husband. He had a lot of explaining to do after doing that to their child. By her side, Ranko skipped merrily as she held her mother's hand.

Finally, they arrived. Nodoka hesitated for a while before knocking on the door. What if her husband wasn't there? What would she do then? Either way, they had to be informed, the engagement was off.

As she talked with the Tendo Patriarch, Ranko wandered around the household, eventually coming across the kitchen. What she saw amazed her.

A girl who appeared to be a few years older than her was busy running around the kitchen, busy preparing dinner. Sometimes she would be cutting some vegetables, the next she would be stirring something in the pot, then tasting the soup.

Wow, she's so....so, her young mind couldn't find a word to explain what she felt.

She was standing on a stool, trying to get something that was too high up. The stool was unstable, and she tripped. The girl screamed out before falling, Ranko quickly rushed to catch her. Using her training, she managed to do so just in time.

Kasumi was standing on top of the stool, trying to get a spice that was too high up. She knew that she should ask her father to get it for her, but he was busy talking with their guest, so she took a stool and tried to get it herself. Unfortunately, she lost her balance and fell. She felt someone attempt to catch her before hitting the ground.

She heard a quiet 'oww' underneath her, so she quickly got up and turned around to see who it was. She was surprised when she saw that it was the little girl that had came with their guest.

"I'm sorry, are you alright?" she asked, kneeling down with a worried look on her face.

"Owie, I'm ok" Ranko replied cutely, Rubbing her butt where it hurt.

"Here, let me help you," Kasumi said, offering a hand.

She helped her up and patted her gently on the head.

"Thank you for trying to help me, my name is Kasumi, what's yours?" she asked with a gently smile on her face.

"My name is Ranko," she replied shyly.

"No need to be shy, come on, let's go find your mother."

After making sure nothing was going to boil over, she took Ranko's hand and led her through the house to where her mother was still discussing with Soun, if you could call it that. He was bawling his eyes out while crying something about the schools not being joined. Kasumi led Ranko to her mother and went to comfort her father, even if she didn't know what was going on. Nodoka hugged Ranko while looking appraisingly at the older girl.

It was dawn, and they were leaving. Kasumi took over the role of hostess since her father was still busy crying. She bid them goodbye and saw them to the door. There she waved goodbye to the little girl, a genuine smile on her face for the first time in many years. Something in that little girl just made her feel so happy, it was as if her happiness was contagious. She was almost sad that they had to leave.

"Can we go back to visit again momma?" asked Ranko as they headed back home.  
"Kasumi-neesan said we could."

"Sure my little Ko-chan," she said, smiling. It was good to see that her little girl had made another friend.

Ranko hugged her mother happily before fighting off the urge to yawn. Nodoka, seeing that she was tired, picker her up and carried her.

"Come on Ko-chan, let's go home."

Nodoka was broken out of her reverie by Ranko, who was looking at her a bit worried. She assured her that nothing was wrong.

"You ok, mom?" she asked.

"I'm ok, Ko-chan, just thinking about the past, that's all," Nodoka answered with a smile.

Ranko smiled as well, and looked out the window for a while. They chatted for a while longer before paying the check and headed home.

A/n: Well, I'm back from the dead. I'm still having school but I found some time to write this chapter (Though I believe that this will cost me). I hope that my English hasn't gotten rusty, since I don't use it often after I moved.

Well, that's all for now. Feel free to leave your comments.

C ya next time!


End file.
